A Christmas Reunion
by theimpracticalgirl
Summary: The very best gift a parent has is their children. When the child is taken away, an unspeakable grief consumes the parent. Sometimes, just sometimes, they finally find their way back to each other. (An AU before the Christmas episode, based off of the minisode.)
1. Prologue

It was snowing that night in Victorian London. Everything was peaceful to the passing eye, but mischief was ensuing in a dark corner of a street. A rather short and potato like man looked around the corner, and waved to his two companions to come forward. A tall woman with a veil and a more average height woman approached him, and they too looked around the corner. No one was in sight. Madame Vastra sighed, and Jenny Flint looked behind herself when she saw a tall person wearing a tall hat approach. She tapped on her wife's arm, and woman looked back as well. She was clearly relieved.

"I'm so glad you came." She moved the veil away from her face, revealing green scales. "We have news I think of particular interest for you." The lizard woman said. She began telling him about a meteor shower that had occurred rather suddenly and with an interesting density, and how there was a twenty four percent chance that it was due to alien intervention. He did not speak or appear even the slightest bit interested, but simply looked at her blankly, his face hidden by the shadows the brim of his hat cast. Madame Vastra had to look away briefly from embarrassment.

Jenny stepped forward, and told him about a professor who said he had a giant drill and he was going to drill down through the thinnest part of the earth's crust. She shifted uncomfortably, and admitted that he had been drunk at the time, and he really didn't have a giant drill… The man looked back down again. There was an awkward moment of silence, and Strax, the potato like one, stepped forward, raising one large finger.

"I have declared war on the moon!" He announced loudly. It was all Madame Vastra and Jenny could do to not groan out loud. They quickly tried to hush him, but he insisted that they had to strike now before the Moonites struck them. For too long they had hung over them all. What little interest the other man had vanished, and he stepped forward, revealing his face.

"Why do you keep doing this?" The Doctor asked, giving them a look. "What is the point?" The trio looked chastised. "I've told you, I keep telling you. I don't do this anymore." His words were forceful and carefully spoken. "I'm retired." His tone became weary. He began to turn away.

"I know a man with an invisible wife!" Jenny Flint quickly interjected, trying in vain to keep him. He sighed.

"You're wasting your time." He said, walking away into the snow. Flint sighed herself.

"Merry Christmas!" She called. He ignored her. Madame Vastra watched him sadly for a moment and then shook herself, as if gathering her courage.

"Doctor!" The great detective took a step forward, her voice projecting across the night air. "I have one more thing you might be interested in." His pace slowed, but he still had his back to them. "I came across an interesting find the other day; a young woman, as a matter of fact. I believe you would be interested in meeting her. If you would only come back…" He shook his head ever the slightest, and resumed his speed. Madame Vastra frowned, and took in a sharp breath.

"Doctor, I believe she may be your daughter!"


	2. Chapter 1

The Doctor stopped abruptly. For a moment he simply stood there with his back to them, and then he turned around slowly to face Madame Vastra. "What did you say?" He asked of her in a low tone, his expression unreadable. Was he shocked? Confused? Upset? She couldn't tell for the shadow cast by the brim of his hat obscured his eyes. Jenny Flint and Strax both gazed in wonder at their associate. They hadn't been told of this!

"I said that I believe this young woman I've come across to be your daughter." The woman repeated, raising her chin high. The Doctor quickly approached her, gripping her arms.

"No. That's impossible" He said firmly. "Don't even insinuate that." She could see now that darkness brewed in his eyes, along with a deep pain. "My family is gone; dead. I have no children, no daughter. I am alone. I'm the only one left." She gazed calmly back at him, tilting her head to the side.

"Are you sure?" Her tone was soft and inquiring. "Are you completely sure?" The Doctor looked at her blankly for a brief second as memories flashed through his head before he dipped his head slowly.

"Yes." It came as his whispered response. He dropped his hands from her arms, an air of complete defeat around him. Madame Vastra placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Then you wouldn't mind coming with me to disprove my suspicions." He looked up into her eyes, studying them. Could it possibly be true? He almost gave in, almost let her lead him to her home, but the eager look on Jenny Flint's face made him draw back.

"No. I know you are concerned for me, but this is too far." He said coldly. "I am alone, Vastra. I will always be alone."

"You have us, Doctor." Jenny Flint supplied meekly. The Doctor jerked away from them, and stormed off.

"Do not contact me unless it is absolutely imperative!" He shouted back at them. Madame Vastra sighed. She had been so close. She'd seen a little flicker of the old flame in his eye for just a brief moment, but it blew out too quickly. Jenny Flint approached her wife and placed a hand on her shoulder, and they watched the retreating man in silence.

The trio went home, defeated. The light was on in the parlor window, and a figure peeked out the window. Madame Vastra sighed. It would appear her guest was conscious. Jenny Flint gave the other woman's hand a squeeze and went ahead to prepare supper. The Silurian entered the home and went to the parlor, removing her veil.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked softly. The young woman started, but smiled at her.

"Yes, thank you very much for taking care of me." If she was surprised at talking to a lizard woman, she didn't show it. The woman inclined her head.

"If you are feeling up to it, can you please explain how you ended up here?" Twisting her lips, the young woman shrugged.

"I suppose." They both sat down opposite of each other, the young woman sitting on the couch with Madame Vastra facing her from a lounge chair. The detective studied her for a moment.

Earlier in that week, Madame Vastra had been taking a stroll outside with her wife. It was a fine day, the air clean and sharp, the sun shining down from a lovely blue sky with only a few cottony white clouds onto the white world below. People sang Christmas carols, trees were being carted back and forth, goods being bought, family being visited. It was quite a fine day, indeed. The detective was contemplating what to get for her companion when a loud noise shook the square.

It was almost like the sound of a canon being fired, but only much, much larger. The taller woman recognized it immediately. That had been the sound of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier. Immediately her head shot up, and through her veil she saw a blazing object streak across the sky, leaving a trail of grey smoke. She followed its descent, and by the thunderous noise that followed closely after it disappeared behind some building, she figured that it crashed in a field not too far away.

With a look exchanged with her wife, the duo quickly claimed a cab and they went galloping down the street and out of town. Billows of smoke rose into view, and quickly Madame Vastra directed the driver toward it. He gave her a look like she was mad, but obliged. The cab came to a sharp stop, and demanding that he wait, Jenny and she hitched up their skirts and streaked across the field at top speed. A crashed ship lay in the middle of a crater, badly damaged and blenching flame and smoke.

The two stopped at the edge of the crater, trying to figure out how to go about it all when a hatch opened in the side of the ship and a figure tumbled out. Jenny slid down the side of the crater to the figure and helped them up. It was a young woman, wearing a man's outfit for that time period with her long black hair pulled back into ponytail. She coughed out smoke and begged for water. Jenny helped the woman up the slope carefully to Madame Vastra. The detective quickly looked into her eyes for any sign of concussion, but the blue eyes that gazed back, even if a little unfocused, were clear.

"Help me get her back to the cab." She told Jenny. They did just that, and on the cab ride back to their home Madame Vastra began asking her questions to keep her from drifting into shock.

"What is your name?"

"…Jane. Jane Smith." The young woman added the last part almost as an afterthought.

"How old are you?"

"You should never ask a woman that." The response brought a brief smile to the detective's lips. Jane chuckled, but ended up coughing. After a moment she sat back, breathless.

"Are you better?" There was a small nod. "Very well. Where are you from?"

"Someplace far from here." Well, she'd figured as much.

"Where were you going?"

"I was just exploring this era. No real destination, though."

"Do you know what went wrong?" The woman had to take a moment to reply, the jostling of the cab made it hard to think.

"I saw a blue light…" Jane began. "I looked away from my consoles for one moment, and something blindsided me. That's all I know." The lizard woman tilted her head, and let the woman rest, deciding that there was no danger.

They had helped the woman into their home and let her rest in a spare room. Jane tossed and turned fitfully on the bed, a light layer of sweat beading on her forehead. Perhaps Madame Vastra shouldn't have let her rest just yet. Whatever was going on was internal, though. Jane's body tensed, like it was wracked with pain, and her back arched up off the bed. Jenny had to help her wife hold the woman down. Jane's mouth opened up in a silent scream, and then, quite unexpectedly, a golden light drifted up from it. The other two looked at each other in surprise.

After that Jane rested soundly, completely oblivious to the world. A few days passed, and as Madame Vastra took up her vigil by the woman's side, Jane's mouth opened slightly in a gasp, and again the golden light drifted from between her lips. That was when the detective decided to contact the Doctor.


	3. Chapter 2

Now as they sat there in the parlor, Jenny brought out a pitcher of water, and Jane drank most of it gratefully. Satisfied, she leaned back on the couch, wincing visibly. She was still sore.

"You were quite lucky." The Madame said. Jenny remained standing behind her. Dinner could be left unattended for a while; she wanted to hear, too. Jane gave her a quick smile.

"I was, wasn't I?" She let out a slow breath. "That was too close for my taste." Even after resting for all that time she was still exhausted. It would be a couple more days before she was running about again. The detective let her rest for a moment in silence before opening her mouth to speak.

"Jane, was it?" She nodded her head. "Tell me a little about yourself." Jane let out a deep sigh.

"Why do you want to know?" She finally asked, looking quizzically at the other woman.

"Simple curiosity." She replied. Jane studied her for a moment, shrugged, and looked away out the window she'd been standing by.

"There's not much to know. I'll bet anything that you're not from around here," Madame Vastra smiled. "So you can believe that I am not from Earth." The detective nodded.

"I certainly can." Jane chuckled.

"Well, where I'm from there had been a war. In my opinion, it was one of the worst. Generations were killed in a matter of days." She let out a slow breath. "My dad got caught up in it, but he managed to stop the fighting. The last I heard the two sides were living peacefully."

"Your father, you say? What happened to him? He didn't…" She trailed off, not wanting to ask the question. Jane stared at her blankly for a moment before laughed suddenly.

"Oh! No. No, he got away fine as far as I know. I haven't seen him for a long time, though, so something might have got to him since then…" She bit her bottom lip gently, staring up at the ceiling. "Actually, before I crashed, I was just about to start traveling to see if I could find him." Jane sounded sad. Madame Vastra leaned forward.

"Were you?" She'd been getting a funny feeling ever since she looked into Jane's eyes that first time. Call it a hunch, but she believed she knew who Jane's father was already. After all, that golden light and the look in those eyes…It was so familiar. "Miss Smith, would you mind playing a little game with me?" She asked suddenly. Jane turned her head to look at her, surprised. Jenny looked the same way at her wife.

"...Alright." She leaned forward, resting her arms across her legs. She gave the lizard woman a wary look.

"Thank you. In this game, I'm going to ask you a series of questions, but you can only reply to each with one word. Take as much time as you need to think of the best word. Is this okay with you?" Jane slowly nodded. "Then we shall begin."

The detective sat up straight, raising her chin. "Where did you say you were from?" Jane gave her a slight frown.

"Didn't." The detective marked a note in her head that she was hesitant to give away that information. She wondered why.

"How old are you?" Brief irritation crossed Jane's face. Again with the age!

"Very."

"You said you were this man's daughter?"

"No."

"You said he was your father though."

"Yes."

"How can he be your father and yet you not be his daughter? Were you adopted?" Jane took a moment to think, her face screwing up in concentration.

"…Echo." She finally said. Madame Vastra nodded slowly.

"What do you typically do?"

"Travel."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

"You said echo. Of what?"

"Him."

"You're a clone?" Jane's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"No!"

"Then how?"

"Progenation."

"Is your father of medical profession?" The question caught her visibly off guard.

"…Eh." She couldn't think of a single word to describe it properly. Madame Vastra had to chuckle.

"I only have one more question; thank you for humoring me. Now, Miss Smith, I have a very good idea who your father is." Jane jerked up straight, looking at her in shock. The woman held a hand up to keep her for a moment longer. "Now, I have means to contact him, but I need you to give me one more word to get him to come. Just one word that will tell him who you are. Think as long as you need on this."

Jane was agitated; Madame Vastra and Jenny both could tell, and she fidgeted in her seat as she thought. Her brow wrinkled slightly as she searched her brain how to sum up everything into that one needed word. Finally her face lit up, and she sucked in her breath to brace herself.

"Have you decided?" The detective asked. Jane nodded impatiently.

"Messaline."


	4. Chapter 3

Jane Smith was standing by a window in the sitting room, looking out upon the street blankly. It'd gotten dark, and Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint, along with Strax, had gone off someplace a while ago. It was a few days after she'd been questioned by the detective, and now she was anxious to get out and run off some of her energy.

Jane absently began fiddling with the edge of the glove she was wearing, and let out a sigh. The puff of warm air left a clouded mark on the cold glass of the window. She was bored. Jane had never really liked being in one spot for too long, but it would seem that for now she'd be stuck in Victorian London for quite a while.

That was, until she fixed her ship. Who knew how long that would take, though? This time period wasn't exactly known for its technology. It would take at least a week to get her ship salvaged and transported somewhere she could work on it, and another week to dismantle it. Maybe a month to get the supplies she needed; and she could hardly imagine how long it would take to get everything else taken care of with only primitive tools. If only Madame Vastra would hurry up in contacting her father!

The black haired young woman sighed again, and turned away from the window. It was nice of the couple to let her stay with them, but even so…Well, they did understand her more than most other people would, what with being a lizard woman and her wife and a very ugly potato man. What were they called again? Oh, bother. Jane rubbed at her temples, and forced back a huge yawn. She was tired, but her mind was all over the place, and it would never let her rest. Her stomach rumbled, and she looked at a now cool bowl of stew and a bread roll. Well, better late than never.

She went to go eat, but the skirts of her dress tangled around her feet as she crossed the room to the tray with her supper on it and she tripped. Her hands shot out to grab hold of anything to catch herself, but she knocked a potted plant of some alien sort of orchid off of a table, and it went crashing to the ground.

Landing in an ungraceful heap of cloth on the ground, Jane first cursed her dress, then her clumsiness. Looking at the broken pot and the plant which now lay in a pile of spilled dirt, she cursed again, this time in embarrassment. She'd seen Madame Vastra tending to the plant very lovingly earlier that day, and now she'd made a mess of it. She crawled over to it; trying to fix it somehow when she heard the front door open and voices come closer. "She'll be in the sitting room." Jane heard her hostess say to someone.

She scrambled up and quickly gathered up all the dirt she could and the plant, pouring the dirt into the little leftover water in the pitcher that was with her supper and put the plant into the pitcher, and the pitcher where the pot had been previously. She swiped the rest of the mess under a sofa with her foot, and smoothed her dress down just as the door opened.

Strax came in first, and he made a beeline for her supper tray, muttering something about the 'damn moon'. Jenny and Madame Vastra came in next, and just behind the detective came a funny looking man with a top hat and a bow tie. Jane felt brief confusion, and then forced a smile onto her face. "I was wondering when you three would be back." She said cheerily. Jenny gave her a bright smile.

"We've been quite busy." She chirped. Madame Vastra cleared her throat and Jenny looked too innocent. Jane's smile faltered. She was trying desperately not to stare at the man, but was failing miserably. He seemed to be having the same problem, though she couldn't imagine why. They'd never met before…Had they? Something deep inside of her was telling her something, but she couldn't understand.

Madame Vastra gently told the man to take a seat, and he did so awkwardly, moving with clumsy movement because he never took his eyes off of Jane. Her cheeks burned, feeling like maybe there had to be something on her face; and as she sat opposite from him she rubbed at her skin with her gloved hand.

The Doctor couldn't believe it. It was impossible. She was impossible. Earlier, when Madame Vastra had said that she'd found his daughter, he didn't believe it. Then she called earlier that day with a single word that changed his life forever.

He had been leaning against the console of the TARDIs, watching a screen with a bland expression. The symbols no longer held any excitement for him. Then the phone rang and he glanced over at it in agitation. It had to be them calling again to try to get him out and about. The Doctor ignored it, but it kept ringing, so he picked it up.

"What is it?" He asked rather sharply.

"Doctor." The Silurian woman greeted him. He suppressed the urge to sigh. "I am sure you remember what I mentioned the other day." Of course he did! The very memory made angry and hurt emotions well up again in his chest. "I have been talking to her. I won't go into too much detail now, but I did give her the one word test."

The Doctor turned so that he was looking at a note he'd written, the paper holding more bored interest for him than her. "Are you willing to hear what she said?" Now the Doctor did sigh.

"Very well." What harm could it cause? He was certain that it was nothing.

"Messaline." A moment passed. What was that..? His eyes widened as he froze, gripping the phone in his hand desperately as if for dear life.

"Say that again." The Doctor demanded of her.

"Messaline, she said, Doctor." A note of triumph was in her voice. She obviously had caught his attention. "Will you be stopping by tonight?" She got no answer. The phone was already swinging from its cord over the edge of the console. The Doctor grabbed his coat from its place draped over a rail, and was throwing it on as he burst out the doors, descending down the staircase to the Earth.

Now that he was in this room, looking at her, he finally believed. A small part of him was still in denial however. She'd died. She'd died protecting him, even after all he'd said to her. She died in his arms. Oh, he'd waited for her; she'd been so much like him…Too much like him…She never woke up. He'd left her body there…How was she here if she'd been there?

His mind was spinning. She looked different than what he remembered, her hair now jet black rather than light blonde, her skin a bit tanner, though her eyes were still that crystal blue… He could see blonde roots growing out at her part now upon inspection, her hair must be dyed. He was worrying her, he could tell.

Jane shifted uneasily in her seat. "So…" She began. "What were you up to?" She asked. There was no answer. The three just looked between her and the man expectantly. When she could bear the silence no longer, she leaned forward and addressed the man. "Excuse me, but do I know you?" A look of elation passed his face, and she had no idea why.

"No. I mean, yes. You know me, but not me." He got a blank look. He tried again. "It's me, but I've a new face." Her eyebrows slowly drew together. New face? What, had he gotten surgery? The alternative did not dawn upon her just yet. The man proceeded to make a weird face, and while she was completely and utterly confused, she couldn't help but giggle. The laugh caught her off guard, and quickly she covered her mouth with her hands, looking appalled. The man grinned at her.

"There's nothing wrong with your laugh." The man reassured her. She let her hands drop. Madame Vastra and her companions quickly exchanged triumphant glances.

"You never really answered my question." Jane pointed out. The mirth slowly left his face and was replaced with a sort of thoughtfulness.

"Yes…I rather think you do know me." He began. Jane slowly nodded, urging him on. "I…" He trailed off, and looked aside, unable to continue. She leaned forward even more.

"You…What?" She prodded. He swallowed thickly, emotion rising up inside him.

"I'm the Doctor." He finally admitted after a minute of silence. Jane stared at him in shock before lurching to her feet.

"You're what!"


End file.
